Coach signs lease for flagship store at 685 Fifth Avenue

Luxury handbag retailer Coach signed a lease to open a global flagship store at 685 Fifth Avenue, General Growth Properties announced Tuesday.

The company is taking 23,400 square feet at the property, GGP announced on its quarterly earnings call, according to Bloomberg.

GGP, based out of Chicago, bought the 20-story building in 2014 with Joe Sitt’s Thor Equities for more than $460 million from Gucci.

After years of seeing its luxury cachet wane, Coach has been rebuilding its status by shrinking its footprint and reinvesting to upgrade prime locations. The firm’s corporate headquarters will be at Hudson Yards.

GGP CEO Sandeep Mathrani declined to comment on the call on a report that shareholder Brookfield Properties is looking to buyout the REIT and take it private. [Bloomberg] – Rich Bockmann